Ranger's Woman
by Obsessive Reader22
Summary: A longer-short attack of the plot bunnies. Steph is in a bind and tries to get out. What she uses to deter her assailant will work, right? Kind of dark (think shady) with minor angst. Babe of course (duh, title) and Morelli isn't even mentioned. *Rated for stuff...you never know.


Plot bunnies are suffering from something…don't know what exactly but as soon as I find out I will let you know. This was just something running amuck in my head and wouldn't let me be until I put it down. Nothing too special, in fact it kind seems rather off. Either way, I hope that you enjoy and I would love if you would send a review.

As always, thanks for all your support.

Obsessive Reader22

Ranger's Woman

Pain shot through me as my body slammed against the dumpster in the darkened alley. I gasped, the breath knocked from me, and panicked as I tried to catch it. Blood poured from the fresh wound on my side, the shirt and skin torn as my body hit the dumpster's latch.

"Get up." The man growled, hovering over me. I whimpered and attempted to stand only to have dizziness tip me over and back down onto the pavement. "Get the fuck up!"

I yelped as he grabbed ahold of my hair and pulled me to my feet, slamming my back against the wall next to the dumpster. My stomach rolled and I struggled to keep my eyes open.

"You thought you could take ME in." He laughed, low and menacing. His hand moved from my hair to the front of my shirt holding me against the wall as his other searched my pockets. His hands roughly rubbed and squeezed searching pockets and dumping their contents on the ground. "Where's your gun?"

"I don't have one." I gasped out, my breath barely returning to me. He looked at me for a moment and then smiled. The smile sent an icy chill down my spine and I shuttered.

"You're joking." He leaned forward, moving his hand so that his forearm was pressed against my throat. He shoved his hand between my legs and felt the inside of my thighs. "Not even a knife?"

I shook my head again and he laughed. Tears filled my eyes, blurring my vision and tightening my throat.

"You came alone to get me without a weapon?" He pressed himself against me putting a hand on either side of the wall by my head. I didn't answer, but widened my eyes as he ground himself against me. "You don't seem like you would be that stupid."

'I was that stupid.' I thought, my lip quivering as he ground into me again and dipping his head to inhale the scent of my hair. I shuddered and closed my eyes trying to find my calm. I had to think. 'I have to have a tracker somewhere.' My mind reeled, going over everything that I was wearing and everything that he pulled from my pockets.

"I should take you back to my place." He nuzzled my neck and bit at the junction of my shoulder. I whimpered and he laughed again, sending a shock wave of fear through my whole body. "I bet I could have a lot of fun with you."

"Please.." My voice cracked. I swallowed and tried to steady the tone. "Please, just let me go."

"I don't know." He slid his hand up under my shirt and grabbed my bra covered breast. "You are really soft."

"You don't want to do this." I sobbed, tears streaming down my face.

"Why not?" He leaned back slightly, taking both of my hands in one of his and pulling them over my head. "I think that I might want to."

"Do you know who I am?" My brain clicked and I ran with it.

"Who you are?" He laughed, reaching down and groping my ass. "You're a bounty hunter for Vinnie. Other than that, nothing special that I can see."

"Do you know who Ranger is?" I felt him still against me before he locked his eyes on mine. "I take that as a yes."

"What the fuck does he have to do with anything?" His eyes sparked both fear and anger.

"I'm his woman." I stilled my fear long enough to push forward from form of calm.

"I doubt it." He chuckled and grabbed my ass again.

"Look at my phone." I sucked in a breath as he went for the buttons on my jeans.

"What would that tell me?" He stopped moving again and looked at me, obviously confused as to what I was getting at.

"Get my phone. Press speed dial one." I glanced down at my phone laying on the ground next to the other things he pulled out of my pockets. "If it's not him then you can do what you want to me."

"Interesting." He stepped back a bit and looked at me and then at my phone. "So, you're telling me that if I pick up your phone and call your first speedial and no one answers you will just what…come back with me and let me do whatever I want?"

"Yes." I sent a prayer to every deity I could think of that Ranger would answer. "He will answer. And then you will let me go."

"That's a pretty big gamble." He laughed again and leaned down picking up my phone. "You sure you wanna take that deal?"

"Yes. He will answer." I swallowed and calmed my breathing.

"Shit. This is just too easy." He smiled and pressed speed dial one and put it on speaker. "One." He chuckled as it rang.

My whole body tensed and my brain was screaming for him to answer.

"Two." A second ring filled the dark alleyway.

'Ranger, please. Please please please answer.' I thought, closing my eyes and sending out a message hoping he would get it.

"Three. It's not looking good, Sugar." He laughed and stepped back towards me as the phone rang. "I think you might have lost this little wager."

"No." I whispered. "He will answer. Let it ring."

He shrugged and reached down to continue his unbuttoning of my jeans. "Four."

Time seemed to slow and the ring seemed louder and longer than normal. My heart was pounding against my chest.

"Looks to me like you and I are…"

"Babe?" Ranger's voice filled the space and I sobbed audibly in relief.

"What the fuck?" The man growled, staring at the phone.

"Ranger?" I stammered out, trying to shift away from the man pressing against me.

"Where are you?" His voice was venomous. "Who is that?"

"Who the fuck is this?" The man snarled, shifting his hand back to my throat and pressing it firmly against it. I made a gurlgled choking sound and I could hear the engine of Ranger's Turbo rev on the other side of the phone.

"You know who the fuck I am." Ranger snarled. "If you are smart, you won't have your hands on my woman by the time I get there or you won't like what happens to you."

"Why would I believe that this fucking skank would be Ranger's woman? She's just some dumb bounty hunter bitch." He chuckled and pressed against me again. I whimpered, clutching at his hand around my throat.

I heard the screeching of tires down the way as Ranger responded.

"Babe."

"That was a good try, bitch." The man chuckled as he tossed my phone on the ground and shifting his grip back to my hands pulling them high above my head. "Next time you may want to make sure that the guy actually sounds like him. That guy sounds like he works at McDonalds."

I began to really struggle as he once again slid a hand under my shirt. I screamed as he leaned down and bit at my shoulder so hard that he probably broke the skin. I kicked and squirmed as he groped me. I screamed again pushing my head away from him. I caught a flash out of the corner of my eye. Ranger.

He ran up and wrapped a hand around the man's throat and pressed his gun to his temple.

"Let her go." Ranger's face wasn't blank. It was showing more anger than I have ever seen. The man, who had gone still the moment Ranger had grabbed him, looked at me eyes wide. Ranger pressed the barrel into the man's temple harder and growled out. "Now!"

I whimpered as he released my breast and wrists and crumbled to the ground as he was pulled back away from me.

"Ranger." I choked, coughing and trying to pull myself up. He snarled at the man and squeezed harder on his thoat.

"You are't going to walk away from this." Ranger snarled. I could see his body vibrating with anger.

"Please…I didn't know." The man sobbed openly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Doesn't matter." Ranger released the man's neck and held out his hand for me to take. I grasped it and pulled myself into his chest, his arm wrapping around me. "Are you hurt, Babe?" His voice was soft and full of concern; the complete opposite of the tone he was using with the man. I nodded.

"See..no harm no foul." The man stood, hands raised in surrender staring at the gun still pointed at him.

Ranger kissed the top of my head and tucked my face towards his chest, his hand splayed out keeping me tight against him. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear the pounding of his heart and the calm breaths he took.

"No harm, no foul." Ranger repeated quietly, letting the words roll against his tongue. Another kiss pressed into my head and then a sigh. "No one touches my woman."

"Wait…Wait…" the man screamed.

"Too late." Ranger snarled again.

The gun shot echoed off the alley, accompanied by my scream as I jumped at the deafening sound. I heard gurgling for a few seconds before there was silence. My whole body was shaking as he wrapped his other arm around me and pulled me into his arms.

"Babe. I'm sorry." He whispered over and over as he walked out of the alleyway. More screeching tires and the sound of half a dozen boots hitting the ground. "Alley."

No other words were spoken as he slid me into the passenger seat of the Turbo and sped off into the night.

I sat with my eyes closed, my body shaking as he drove. I knew that Ranger has killed for me, and I know that he would do anything to keep me safe. My brain frantically flipped through the events of tonight trying to find all the ways that I could have not gotten into the situation.

'I wasn't even looking for him.' I thought, remembering how I had just run into him in the grocery store. 'Why did he come after me? Should I have just stayed there and waited him out?'

Ranger reached over and gently curled his hand into mine. I opened my eyes and looked at him. Passing street lights flashed overhead as he drove, sending a shadow over his features. I felt my lip quiver and tears began to pour out of my eyes once again. He looked over at me, his brown eyes soft and concerned.

"Are you hurt?" he pressed my hand against his lips.

I nodded, lifting my shirt and finally seeing the wound. Ranger hissed and pressed his foot on the gas. Black spots flittered over my vision as I looked at the blood slowly oozing from the four inch gash on my side.

"Breathe." Ranger spoke as he pressed my head between my knees and began stroking my neck and back. "Breathe, Babe."

As the black spots faded, he had stopped. I sat up slowly and saw we were at Rangeman in the garage. He shot out of the car and ran to my side, yanking open the door and pulling me out and into his arms. Without even closing the door he sprinted to the stairs and powered up them toward the Infirmary.

"What the…" I heard Bobby yell as Ranger slammed into the door, smashing it against the wall behind it. "Shit…what happened?"

"She's bleeding. I don't know the full extent of her injuries." Ranger rattled off, setting me down onto the examination table. He smiled down at me and pressed a kiss onto my forehead. "Where does it hurt, Babe?"

"Mostly my side." I hoarsely whispered. "He threw me against the dumpster and I must have hit the hinge or something."

Bobby lifted my t-shirt and grimaced. Turning, he pulled out his supplies and began to clean and prepare the wound for stitches. I looked up at Ranger, who was watching Bobby intently, stroking my hair. I grimaced as Bobby cleaned my side.

"My shoulder." I whispered, looking at Ranger. He quirked his eyebrow and I tilted my head to the side. Reaching down he pulled back the collar of my t-shirt and growled deep in his chest.

He took a step away and came back with another bottle of anticeptic and some gauze and began gently cleaning out the bite mark on my shoulder. Bobby glanced up as he was about to begin stitching and winced.

"Do we need to make a mold?" He leaned forward and looked closer.

"Not necessary." Ranger spoke without even looking at him. Bobby tilted an eyebrow before nodding his head.

"A little poke, Bomber."

I sucked air in between my teeth as he numbed the area and began to stitch. The room was silent as they worked. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths trying to calm the sting. Within a few minutes they were both done, bandaging the area.

"I'm going to give you some antibotics for the bite." Bobby stood and retrieved a small bottle, writing instructions on the label with a thin marker. "Take one now, and then one pill twice a day for the next ten days. I want you to come see me every day until it is all healed. I worry about an infection. Shower with it covered today and keep the water luke warm if you can."

"Thanks." I whispered. Bobby stood, leaned down and kissed my cheek.

"Anything for you, Bomber." He stepped back as Ranger helped me to my feet. "Let me know if it feels warm to the touch or starts hurting more than you think it should." He pulled another bottle out of his drawers and handed it to me. "These are strong, but won't make you all loopy. Take them every six hours."

I nodded and wrapped an arm around Ranger as we walked out of the Infirmary. We stopped in front of the elevators and Ranger looked down at me.

"Hungry?"

I nodded and he smiled, tucking an unruly curl behind my ear. We didn't stop at five but went straight up to his apartment. He lead me into the living room and settled me under the throw before heading into the kitchen. Moments later he returned with a tray with bowl of soup and a sandwich with two bottles of water.

"Eat up." He placed the tray on my lap and sat down next to me, opening the bottles of water. "We can talk when you are done."

I was hungrier then I thought. The food was gone quickly and the tray was slid onto the coffee table in front of us. Ranger opened his arm and I took the invitation; curling into his side and wrapping my arms around him.

"What happened?" He asked quietly, stroking my hair. I sighed, tilting my head back and looking into his eyes.

"I wasn't even going after him." My voice small and soft. Ranger's eyebrow rose. "I was at the grocery story down the street picking up somethings for my mother when I ran into him. I guess he knew who I was, or at least remembered seeing me at the bond's office after he was bailed out."

"I told him that I wasn't going after him. That he wasn't even FTA, but he was paranoid. He started screaming at me so I left." I sighed, snuggling down into his chest and listening to his heart beating. "He followed me out to my car. He was screaming and waving his arms. I was trying to just get in and leave, but he pushed me down and took the keys out of my hand. He threw them into the parking lot."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Babe." He whispered, kissing my face softly. "I'm sorry that I wasn't with you."

"You can't be with me all the time." I took a deep breath. "When he threw my keys I panicked and jumped up and ran. He caught me right outside of the alley."

"And you called me."

"Actually, I was trying to get him to let me go and I thought that I would try to scare him into letting me go." My face flushed, embarrassed of how I threatened him.

"How were you doing that?" His voice never waivered, but I could hear the smile in the tone.

"I asked him if he knew who you were."

"And?" He tilted his head down and pressed a finger gently under my chin, raising my face to his.

"I told him I was your woman and that you would be pissed if he hurt me." I mumbled the words quickly, biting my lip and waiting for him to groan in disapproval. It didn't come, instead he smiled.

"That didn't seem to deter him."

"Well, I made a deal with him." I worried my bottom lip, casting a glance around the room unsure of his reaction to what the deal was about.

"A deal. Explain."

"I told him to dial the first speed dial on my phone." Ranger gave me the 'and then' motion with his hand. "I told him that when you answered he would let me go."

"What if I hadn't answered?" His voice was distant and his eyebrows pinched together.

"I told him I would go with him where ever he wanted to go and that I wouldn't fight him." I lowered my eyes and winced as Ranger swore rather creatively under his breath.

"Stephanie."

"I know…I know." I pushed myself up and sat forward. "It was the only thing I could think of. He didn't follow our deal though and thought that I tried to trick him. He didn't believe it was you."

"I gathered so much." His voice was steel. "You can't do that again. What if I hadn't answered? What if I wasn't near my phone, or not able to answer it?"

"I knew you would answer." I looked at the floor.

"You didn't know…"

"I knew you would answer." I said again, running my hand through my hair. "He wasn't going to let me go either way, but I was hoping that maybe…I don't know. Maybe he would get scared and run, or if anything you would know that I needed help."

Ranger stood up and began pacing the room, one hand on his hip as the other nervously ran through his hair. Tears prickled my eyes.

"There are SO many things that could have gone wrong, Stephanie." He began, never stopping his pacing. "Dios, if I hadn't answered my phone…" He stopped and turned to look at me. A look or horror flashed across his face. I winced, my heart aching for the pain and anger I caused.

"I'm sorry, Ranger. I didn't know what else to do." I stood now too, walking toward him. "I haven't been going out without a partner, or without my gun and trackers. I have been working my ass off to keep myself safe. I promised you that I would."

His shoulders dropped and he nodded, knowing that what I had said was true. After the last bad takedown, I had agreed to his terms. They weren't really unreasonable, and honestly I was getting tired of being dirty and hurt.

He pulled me into his arms. I wrapped myself around him and let my tears fall, dampening his shirt. He held me against him, stroking my back and kissing my cheek and neck.

"Babe, I am so proud of you." He whispered. "I'm sorry that I …"

"Don't." I sniffled and pulled back, looking in his face. "Don't apologize. You saved me."

"I hate that you had to see that." He sighed and cupped my face in his hands. "I hate that you see that part of me. I couldn't just let him walk away after what he did to you...what he was going to do to you."

"I don't hold it against you." I reached up and pulled his mouth to mine. I kissed him softly, pressing my forehead against his. "If I would have seen the same thing, I would have to."

"Babe." Ranger smiled and shook his head. "Let's hope that it will never happen. I don't think I am strong enough to deal with something like that."

"You have been groped and molested before." I snickered and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Yeah, but at the time I enjoyed it." He wrapped his arms around my waist and bent slightly so we were nose to nose. "I know I said that I could ruin you for other men, but I think it backfired. No woman can even hold a candle to you."

"I am pretty good."

"You are amazing, Babe."

He pressed his lips to mine, our kiss deepening as we tightened our grip on one another. Ranger once had been a man of mystery. A dangerous man who could snap at any moment, dark and brooding. Now, he was more. He was the man who carried my heart. He was still dangerous and mysterious, but I didn't fear him. He was kind and compassionate; funny and more intelligent than any man I have ever met. His loyalty and honor were that of legend and fantasy and I was part of it. Today hadn't been the result of me going in blind, but of dumb luck and circumstance. Years ago if you had told me that I could be witness to a man being killed and then an hour or so later be embracing with the man who ended that life; I would have told you that you were nuts.

If Ranger hadn't saved me, I would have been raped and killed. My murder would probably never be solved and my family and friends would never know what happened. Instead a man, who had actually been arrested on child molestation, kidnapping and murder, was gone and I was safe. While some may think that what Ranger did was compulsive and tipped on vigilantism I don't think so.

"Ranger?" I asked, breaking our kiss.

"Mmmhmmm?"

"Thanks for letting me be your woman." I smiled, teasingly.

"Steph, thanks for letting me be your man."


End file.
